Francis considered himself 'the herald of the Great King'.

Assailed by brigands who asked him who he was, he fearlessly replied: 'I am the herald of the Great King; does this interest you?

And when he had to sit at sumptuous tables of great personages, Francis repeated:

"The Lord is pleased with poverty and especially with that which consists in becoming voluntary beggars for Christ. And I, this royal dignity that the Lord assumed for us, making himself poor in order to enrich us with his misery and to make the truly poor in spirit heirs and kings of the Kingdom of heaven, do not want to exchange it for the feud of false riches, granted to you for a moment" (FF 1127).

And when he set up the first nativity scene at Greccio, Francis stood before the manger filled with pity:

"He preaches to the people the birth of the poor King, and in naming him, he calls him by Tenderness of love, the "child of Bethlehem" (FF 1186).

And Clare echoes him in the Legend, saying:

"For if the King of kings gives himself to those who love him ardently, what can there be that he does not grant, if it is fitting, to those who pray to him with devotion?" (FF 3208).

In the Praises of God Most High we read:

"Thou art Holy, O Lord, only God, who workest wondrous things.

You are strong, You are great, You are Most High, You are Almighty King, You, Holy Father, King of Heaven and earth..." (FF 261).

Christ the King (B) (Jn 18:33b-37)

Jesus reminds us that those who are considered worthy of the future life do not take a wife or husband.

In this regard, the Sources have a very significant episode that gives us pause for thought.

"In the hermitage of the friars of Sarteano, the evil one, who always envies the spiritual progress of the sons of God, even had this presumption.

Seeing that the saint was continually attending to his sanctification, and did not neglect today's gain satisfied with that of the previous day, one night, while he was praying in his little cell, he called him three times: 'Francis, Francis.

"What do you want?"

And that one: "There is no sinner in the world who does not obtain God's mercy if he repents. But whoever causes his own death by rigorous penance will not find mercy in eternity".

The saint immediately recognised, by revelation, the cunning of the enemy, as he sought to induce him to lukewarmness [...].

Seeing that in this way he had not succeeded in hiding the snare, he prepared another, that is, a carnal stimulus [...].

As soon as the Father noticed (such a temptation), he stripped off his robe and scourged himself with extreme harshness with a piece of rope.

"Brother Donkey,' he exclaims, 'this is how you must submit, this is how you must suffer the scourge! The cassock is the Order's, it is not lawful to misappropriate it [...]".

But since he saw that with the blows of discipline the temptation would not go away [...] he went out into the garden and plunged naked into the deep snow.

Then taking the snow with his bare hands he clutched it and made seven piles of it in the shape of dummies; he then placed himself before them and began to speak to the body thus:

"Behold, this eldest is thy wife, these four, two are thy sons and two thy daughters; the other two are the servant and the maid, necessary for the service."

"Make haste, they must all be clothed because they are dying of cold. If then this manifold concern is a burden to you, serve the Lord with diligence."

"[...] and the Saint returned to his cell glorifying God" (FF 703).

"But those who will be judged worthy to have part in that other world and in the resurrection of the dead shall neither take a wife nor a husband" (Lk 20:35).

Saturday, 33rd wk. in O.T. (Lk 20:27-40)

Francis, a man of God, loved prayer in a special way, as a place of encounter with the Bridegroom, jealously guarding it from all noise.

We read in the Second Life of his well-known biographer, Celano:

"He always sought a secluded place, where he could be united not only with the Spirit, but with his individual members, to his God.

Instead, when he prayed in the woods and in solitary places, he filled the woods with groans and bathed the earth with tears.

He often dialogued aloud with his Lord: he gave an account to the Judge, pleaded with the Father, spoke to the Friend, joked amiably with the Bridegroom.

And actually, in order to offer all the fibres of his heart in manifold holocaust to God, he considered Him who is supremely One.

Often without moving his lips, he meditated long and hard within himself, and concentrating the outward powers within, he rose with the Spirit to heaven.

He was not so much a praying man as he himself was all transformed into living prayer" (FF 681-682).

"It is written: My house shall be a house of prayer" (Lk 19:46).

Friday, 33rd wk. in O.T. (Lk 19:45-48)

Jesus shed tears over Jerusalem for its ungrateful choice of power.

Francis too, a disciple of the Lord, in the footsteps of the Word made flesh, as soon as he had finished his errands (indeed he would cut them off in a flash, so as not to be distracted by the things of God!) would retire, like Jesus, all alone, to pray, even at night.

Thomas of Celano, one of his most eloquent biographers, in the Sources, speaks thus about Francis' relationship with Christ.

This intimate union strengthened his faith, making him capable of going to God even on the great waters of life, amidst the storms of the world.

"He spent all his time in holy recollection, in order to imprint wisdom in his heart; he feared to turn back if he did not always make progress.

And if at times there were urgent visits from seculars or other matters, he would cut them off rather than finish them, to take refuge again in contemplation" (FF 681).

"When, on the other hand, she prayed in the woods and in solitary places, she filled the woods with groans, bathed the earth with tears, beat her breast with her hand; and there, almost as if taking advantage of a more intimate and reserved place, she often dialogued aloud with her Lord" (FF 682).

But Clare too, a seedling of the Seraphic Father Francis, was nourished by assiduous prayer and solitary contemplation to understand God's will and abandon herself to a solid faith.

Witness what he wrote in his third letter to his spiritual daughter, Agnes of Bohemia. Words charged with authentic 'Christian relationship'.

"Place your eyes before the mirror of eternity, place your soul in the splendour of glory, place your heart in Him who is the figure of the divine substance, and be transformed entirely, through contemplation, into the image of the divinity of Him" (FF 2888).

The Poor of Assisi have made "being with God" the condition for not fearing the adversities encountered on their journey; walking, by Grace, on the "great waters".

Thus, thanks to their eloquent example, many souls abandoned the spirit of confrontation and overpowering, turning to a life of conciliation and fraternal Peace.

"Hadst thou known in this day also that which is for peace! But now it has been hidden from your eyes" (Lk 19:42).

Thursday, 33rd wk. in O.T. (Lk 19:41-44)

Today's Gospel passage highlights the spiritual intelligence of one who, like Francis, places at the service of the Kingdom all that The Most High has deposited in his bare existence.

Those who place the mines (Greek currency/talents) received at the service of the Gospel will find them increased by the Lord's longanimity.

Francis, who described himself as a "simplex et idiota", after meeting Christ, changes his skin - and everything he previously yearned for ends up detesting him - and everything he previously abhorred becomes a sweetness of soul for him.

Walking through the Franciscan Sources, a chisel of events and of the Saint's deep and solid vocation, we read:

"Many, nobles and plebeians, clerics and laymen, docile to divine inspiration, came to the Saint, yearning to stand forever with him and under his guidance.

And to all he, as a rich spring of heavenly grace, bestows the life-giving waters that make the virtues blossom in the garden of the heart.

A truly glorious artist and teacher of the evangelical life: through his example, his Rule and his teaching, the Church of Christ is renewed in her faithful, men and women, and the threefold militia of the elect triumphs" (FF 384).

We also learn that 'he became a herald of the Gospel. He began, in fact, to travel through towns and villages and to proclaim the kingdom of God there, not relying on persuasive speeches of human wisdom, but on the demonstration of spirit and power [...] from then on the vineyard of Christ began to produce fragrant shoots of the good odour of the Lord, and abundant fruit with sweet flowers of grace and holiness" (FF 1072).

The Poor Man of Assisi had known how to 'traffic' his mines, received to reach as many souls as possible through the power of the Spirit of God and make known the salvific value of the Word made flesh.

"I tell you that to everyone who has will be given, but from him who does not have will be taken away even what he has" (Lk 19:26).

Wednesday, 33rd wk. in O.T. (Lk 19:11-28)

The beginning of Luke chapter nineteen recounts the conversion of Zacchaeus. A change of heart that had led him to return four times what he had stolen from the poor.

Thus, by receiving the Lord, salvation had found a home in his house.

Francis, like Zacchaeus, was also small in stature and wanted to see Jesus.

He had climbed the sycamore of his false securities, and Jesus tells him to come down from the world of self-will and climb the hill of evangelical freedom, giving what he had to the poor.

The moment he met Christ, he realised that salvation, the clarity of living, had entered his inner house.

The Sources document these interesting historical events:

"Since, however, as the whole of Scripture says: 'When a man is finished, then he begins, and when he is consummated, he will work' - one saw his spirit become more ready in his infirm flesh.

So vivid was his love for the salvation of souls, and his thirst to win them to God, that, no longer having the strength to walk, he rode out into the countryside on a donkey.

Often his brethren, with sweet insistence, invited him to restore his infirm and too weak body a little with medical care, but he, whose spirit was continually turned to heaven, declined the invitation each time, since he only wished to be untied from his body to be with Christ" (FF 490).

And again: 'For he said that nothing is more important than the salvation of souls, and he proved this very often by the fact that the only-begotten of God deigned to hang on the cross for souls [...].

He did not consider himself a Friend of Christ if he did not love the souls He loved' (FF 758).

Saved, he sought to save; healed, he wanted to heal!

"Zacchaeus, hasten down, for today I must remain in your house" (Lk 19:5b)

Tuesday 33rd wk in O.T. (Lk 19,1-10)

Jesus heals on the Jericho road a blind man who believes in Him and who, because of the salvation received, begins to follow Him glorifying God.

Blindness is a theme revisited by Francis on several occasions.

The Minim knew what blindness of body and soul was, having experienced it spiritually and physically.

The Name of Jesus on the lips of the Poverello had often generated healings, restoring sight.

In the Sources we find:

"In the convent of the Friars Minor in Naples there was a friar, named Robert, who had been blind for many years.

At a certain point a fleshy growth formed over his eyes, which prevented him from moving and lifting his eyelids.

One day, many foreign friars gathered in that convent, on their way to different parts of the world.

Well, our blessed father Francis, a mirror of holy obedience, as if to encourage them on their journey with the novelty of a miracle, wanted to heal that friar, in their presence, in the following way.

This friar Robert was deathly ill, so much so that by now his soul had been commended to him; when behold, the blessed Father appeared to him, in the company of three friars, models of all holiness: Saint Anthony, friar Augustine and friar James of Assisi, who now, after death, accompanied him attentively, just as they had followed him perfectly during his life.

Taking a knife, St Francis cut away his superfluous flesh, restoring his sight and snatching him from the jaws of death; then he said to him:

"O son Robert, the grace I have given you is a sign for the brothers who set out for distant peoples: it is the sign that I will precede and guide them on their journey. Let them depart with joy and fulfil with a ready heart the obedience they have received!" (FF 1299).

The Canticle written by St Francis - Canticle of Brother Sun - is a hymn to life and light at a time when he had lost his sight and had been healed in his heart.

After his conversion, Francis saw again and became light for all, a beacon in the night of time.

Christ restored sight through him.

"And Jesus said to him, 'Lift up your eyes! Your Faith has saved you'" (Lk 18:42).

Monday, 33rd wk. in O.T. (Lk 18:35-43)

The Lord calls to pay attention to events. Not to waste opportunities for life.

Francis of Assisi was a singular prophet capable of reading the signs encountered on the journey of faith.

But the grave error could have been that of not having understood that Francis was a sign of the times, and what a sign!

Given by Heaven to win souls to God, knowing that time was short.

The Sources, Teachers of Franciscanism, tell us why Francis was chosen as a sign of the times.

In this sense, St Bonaventure's Major Legend becomes a revelation:

"On him truly poor and contrite of heart, God rested his gaze with great condescension and goodness; not only did he lift him up as a beggar from the dust of worldly life, but he made him a champion, guide and herald of evangelical perfection and chose him as a light for believers, so that, having become a witness to the light, he might prepare for the Lord the way of light and peace in the hearts of the faithful" (FF 1020).

St. Bonaventure continues: "Like the morning star appearing in the midst of the clouds, with the radiant rays of his life and teaching he drew to the light those who lay in the shadow of death; like a rainbow, shining among the bright clouds, bearing in himself the sign of the covenant with the Lord, he proclaimed to men the Gospel of peace and salvation.

Angel of true peace, he too, in imitation of the Precursor, was predestined by God to prepare the way in the desert of the highest poverty and to preach penance by example and word [...].

He was filled with the spirit of prophecy and, deputed to the office of the angels, was filled with the ardent love of the seraphim, until, having become similar to the angelic hierarchies, he was taken up to heaven by a chariot of fire.

It is thus rationally demonstrated that he was sent among us with the spirit and power of Elijah" (Sources 1021).

"And therefore it is rightly affirmed that he is symbolised in the figure of the angel who ascends from the east and bears within himself the seal of the living God" (Sources 1022).

"He had from Heaven the mission to call men to weep, to mourn, to shave their heads and gird their loins, and to impress, with the sign of the penitential cross and with a garment made in the form of a cross; the Tau, on the foreheads of those who weep and mourn" (Sources 1022).

"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Mk 13:31)

33rd Sunday in O.T. (B)  (Mk 13, 24-32)